Labour promises urgent hospital bed audit and investigation into ED deaths

Summarised by Centrist

Labour has announced an Emergency Department Recovery Plan promising an independent investigation into deaths linked to lengthy emergency department waits, a nationwide audit of unused hospital beds and changes to vaccine funding decisions.

Leader Chris Hipkins and health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall unveiled the policy amid growing concerns about hospital overcrowding, including the death of Brent Horsburgh in a toilet at Waikato Hospital's emergency department.

Under the proposal, Labour would commission a rapid, independent report examining deaths, patient safety and healthcare quality associated with prolonged ED waiting times.

Verrall said she would instruct the director-general of health at their first meeting to begin an audit identifying unopened hospital beds, why they remain unused and how many additional staff would be required to make them available.

"Serious delays in ED often happen because there is a lack of beds in hospital wards, creating a backlog in the emergency room," Verrall said.

Labour also proposes transferring responsibility for determining the national vaccination schedule and eligibility from Pharmac to the Public Health Agency.

"Labour will put the Public Health Agency in charge of deciding the national vaccine schedule and who is eligible," the policy states.

Pharmac would retain responsibility for negotiating vaccine prices, supply arrangements and contracts, consistent with recommendations from the 2022 Pharmac Review.

The plan would also strengthen winter preparedness, improve the movement of patients from emergency departments into hospital wards and expand preventive healthcare.

Labour says its existing commitment to three free GP visits annually, alongside additional support for general practices, would help reduce avoidable emergency department admissions.

Hipkins said the health system required urgent attention.

"Our health system is in crisis. People are waiting too long for care, doctors and nurses are under enormous pressure, and families are worried about what happens when someone they love gets sick."

Labour's wider election health policy also includes additional nursing recruitment and greater access to community healthcare.

Read more at Labour's homepage

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